Freshta Karim

Founder: Charmaghz

Freshta became a refugee at the age of four, fleeing from civil war and oppression under the Taliban regime. After the regime’s collapse, she returned to Afghanistan at age twelve and began her journey as a child reporter on a television program.

Years of conflict and Taliban rule have devastated Afghanistan’s education system, where children are discouraged from thinking or asking questions, and 93% of ten-year-olds lack basic literacy skills (World Bank, 2024). In 2018, based on her experience of reading to her triplet nieces, Freshta founded Charmaghz and established a mobile library program to help children exposed to violence overcome trauma and acquire basic academic skills.

Operating across Kabul, Charmaghz has managed 17 mobile libraries with over 80 teachers and librarians (82% women), providing learning opportunities to more than one million children, more than half of whom are girls.

After more than seven years of impact, Charmaghz announced in October 2025 that it would conclude its mobile library operations due to increasing challenges in continuing in-person education (see announcement). She is now preparing to launch a new online education program for Afghan girls through her U.S.-based nonprofit, The Freshta Foundation.

Organization

Charmaghz

Active In

Afghanistan

Cause

Education

SDGs

Support Starts

2025

Support Ongoing

2.5 years

THE MISSION

Providing an innovative, safe, and enjoyable learning space for children and youth in Afghanistan.

THE ISSUES

Afghan children, especially girls, deprived of educational opportunities

Over 1,000,000

girls in Afghanistan have been denied access to secondary education.

78%

of girls and young women are excluded from education, employment, or training opportunities.

22.6%

literacy rate among women aged 15 and above—compared to 52.1% among men.

WHAT THEY DO

Freedom to learn, dream, and feel safe—for every child

Reuniting children with the joy of learning through a small yet powerful revolution: the mobile library.

In Afghanistan, decades of conflict and oppression under the Taliban have left children with extremely limited access to quality education. The restrictions on girls are especially severe — even today, over one million girls are denied the right to attend secondary and higher education. Many children, shut out of classrooms by violence, poverty, and political barriers, grow up without ever experiencing the joy of learning or discovering their own potential.

To change this reality, Freshta Karim founded the NGO Charmaghz, a beacon of hope for Afghan children. With 17 repurposed buses transformed into mobile libraries, Charmaghz has reached more than one million children across Kabul, providing safe spaces where they can read, think, and imagine freely.

Instead of textbooks, these buses are filled with storybooks and tales that spark imagination. Through read-aloud sessions and creative activities, the team has brought a breath of freedom to learn into lives long overshadowed by violence and silence.

Freshta’s New Challenge: Keeping the Light of Hope Alive Amid Adversity

Due to increasing operational difficulties, Charmaghz announced the conclusion of its mobile library program in October 2025. It was a painful decision for Freshta and her team, yet their determination to protect Afghan children’s right to learn remains unwavering.

Looking ahead, Freshta is now preparing to launch a new online education program for Afghan girls, under her U.S.-based nonprofit, The Freshta Foundation. The initiative, planned to begin in Spring 2026, aims to continue nurturing hope and learning opportunities — even in the most challenging of circumstances.